Santa Anita Park officials hail dramatic drop in horse fatalities. Officials called the safety record a 62.5% improvement over the previous year and 74% improvement since spring of 2019, when 42 horses died, sparking debate about safety issues at the track and about horse racing in general.
Santa Anita meet opens: no fans but record betting. Santa Anita park began its 84th winter-spring meet yesterday with no audience, but had a record-breaking opening day in betting handle, as $23,003,159 was wagered on the 11-race card. The old record of $20,491,016 was set in 2018. First-year General Manager Nate Newby hopes fans will be allowed back soon. Until such time only essential personnel and horses' owners are allowed to attend races.
Santa Anita Park ready to open 84th winter-spring meet with new turf course. The new turf chute will accommodate sprints up to 6 1/2 furlongs. Nate Newby is the new General Manager, who began as an intern in 2002. COVID-19 repercussions make it difficult to run the track but there have been no fatalities over Santa Anita's main track during afternoon racing in 2020, following a disastrous 2019, when 37 horses had to be euthanized.
Concert promoter Insomniac will launch an audiovisual drive-through attraction at Santa Anita Park, starting January 1. It is called Electric Mile and participants will travel 1.5 miles through light and sound portals to evoke some of Insomniac's best known festivals, including EDC, Nocturnal Wonderland, Escape and Countdown.
Fall racing begins with empty stands at Santa Anita Park. No in-person cheering as smoke-delayed, 16-day meet begins. Poor air quality from Bobcat Fire forced the delay of the fall meet by one week.
Santa Anita Park to be a Los Angeles County polling place (Vote Center) for the first time in the racetrack's 86 year history. It'll be on the first floor of its Clubhouse, open 9 AM - 8 PM from October 30 through November 2 and 6 AM - 9 PM on November 3.
Santa Anita Park looking for a brighter future. When Aidan Butler, Executive Director of California Racing Operations for The Stronach Group took over at Santa Anita about a year ago, he couldn't have envisioned the road blocks his first year--heavy rains that postponed opening day, the COVID-19 pandemic, recent brush fires that forced the fall meet to be postponed. He discusses the difficulties this year, the new turf chute and the future.
Santa Anita Park to delay start of fall meet, due to poor air quality of Bobcat Fire, to September 25. The Red Cross is using Santa Anita Park as the evacuation zone for people, including many of our horsemen, whose homes are less than 2 miles from here.
Santa Anita Park modifiest rack after horse deaths. It is the first significant change in 67 years. Horses running 6 and 6 1/2 furlongs will instead start on a new turf chute under construction at the racetrack's northeast corner, near the Gate 5 entrance. Santa Anita Park will host a short meet September 19-October 25, still without spectators due to the coronavirus. The racing board delayed the start of the meet to give the horses time to rest and to ensure its COVID-19 protocols were in place. County officials recorded 38 coronavirus cases at Santa Anita Park by the end of its previous meet in June.
Santa Anita Park primed for historic day with Derby and Gold Cup, to run on the same day. The Santa Anita Derby was postponed from its original April 4 date because of coronavirus.
Back on track. Santa Anita Park resumes racing today, still minus spectators and with several precautions. The last time there was racing was March 27, when the track was shut down by Los Angeles County Health Department to slow the spread of coronavirus. Some of the most important protocols include: restricted zone that will house jockeys, valets and essential personnel, all trainers, employees and essential racing personnel must wear face cloths covering their nose and mouth and practice social distancing, all trainers, employees and essential racing personnel must wear a race-day wristband signifying they passed the daily health screening.
Santa Anita Park is approved by Los Angeles County Health Department to resume tomorrow. Live racing to come back without fans, ith strict safety protocols to prevent spread of COVID-19.
Horse Racing Supporters Call for Santa Anita Park to Open amid COVID-19. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the L.A. County health department are reviewing a proposal from Santa Anita Park to resume "spectator-less" live racing.
Santa Anita Park targets May 15 to resume live racing. Track makes plan to race when county stay-at-home order could be lifted, pending approval from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Santa Anita Park workers rally, seeking return of horse racing. More than 50 backstretch workers at Santa Anita Park rallied outside Board of Supervisors offices in downtown Los Angeles to request county support for a proposal to resume live horse racing. They argue they are onsite daily already caring for horses stabled at the racetrack and there would be little additional risk to host racing without spectators.
Stuck in the backstretch. At Santa Anita Park racetrack, coronavirus cuts off horse caretakers from the outside world More than 750 backstretch workers at Santa Anita Park now live and work in isolation to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They sleep in worn dormitories, sometimes in pairs, tucked among the barns. New restrictions bar visitors. There is a sense of anxiety in the community about the novel Coronavirus and the future of their jobs. No cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus have been reported at Santa Anita Park, which ceased racing last month, but there isn't any proactive testing either. The worries have to do with the track being shut down, or trainers moving to other states and these workers having nowhere to work or stay. If they lose their jobs, they lose their medical benefits and will be struggling.
Sounds of silence. Santa Anita Park like an old west ghost town as horses race without fans. No fans in attendance at the races yesterday due to the coronavirus COVID-19. Only media, owners, trainers, and essential personnel were in attendance. By Art Wilson.